{"id":73941,"date":"2025-11-18T10:40:30","date_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:10:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=73941"},"modified":"2025-11-18T11:03:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-18T05:33:10","slug":"supreme-court-warns-on-digital-arrest-scams-urges-action-on-un-cybercrime-treaty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/supreme-court-warns-on-digital-arrest-scams-urges-action-on-un-cybercrime-treaty\/","title":{"rendered":"Supreme Court Warns on Digital Arrest Scams, Urges Action on UN Cybercrime Treaty"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Digital Arrest Scam Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Highlighting the need for global collaboration to tackle cybercrime, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to clarify whether India has ratified the <\/span><b>UN Convention against Cybercrime<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During a hearing on a suo motu case related to a <\/span><b>\u2018digital arrest\u2019 scam<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned Solicitor General Tushar Mehta on India\u2019s status regarding the treaty, stressing its importance in addressing rising online frauds.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Digital Arrest Scam<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A digital arrest scam is a sophisticated cyber fraud in which criminals impersonate law enforcement agencies to intimidate victims into believing they are under \u201cvirtual arrest\u201d.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scammers typically pose as officers from the police, CBI, ED, or even courts, using forged documents, spoofed phone numbers, or video calls to create a sense of urgency and fear.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Victims are falsely accused of crimes such as money laundering, violating cyber laws, or involvement in illegal parcels.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">They are then coerced into staying on video call \u201cunder surveillance\u201d and pressured to transfer money to supposedly secure or investigative accounts.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Elderly individuals and professionals are frequent targets.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>United Nations Convention against Cybercrime<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2024, the Convention is the world\u2019s first comprehensive global treaty on cybercrime.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It establishes a unified framework for countries to prevent, investigate, and combat a wide range of cyber offences.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It recognises that criminals exploit ICT systems across borders\u2014hacking networks, stealing data, committing financial fraud, and engaging in online child exploitation\u2014while law enforcement remains limited by jurisdictional boundaries.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A key objective of the treaty is to enhance international cooperation, especially in the sharing of electronic evidence across borders for cybercrimes and other serious offences.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>The Treaty Structure<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It consists of a Preamble and nine chapters, covering General Provisions, Criminalization, Jurisdiction, Procedural Measures, International Cooperation, Preventive Measures, Technical Assistance, Implementation, and Final Provisions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Major Provisions<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Convention requires states to <\/span><b>criminalise core cyber offences<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u2014illegal access, data interference, system interference, online fraud, forgery, child sexual abuse material, grooming, and non-consensual intimate image sharing.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It obligates countries to align domestic laws and cooperate through extradition, mutual legal assistance, and 24\/7 contact points for quick evidence preservation.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It also empowers authorities to secure electronic evidence through expedited preservation, search and seizure, production orders, and interception, while respecting human rights.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Implementation<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Conference of States Parties will monitor compliance, review progress, and adopt future protocols.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The treaty was opened for signature in October 2025 and will become binding once 40 states ratify it.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> serves as the secretariat to the Ad Hoc Committee and to the future Conference of the States Parties.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>SC on Digital Arrest Scams<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Emphasising global cooperation in fighting cybercrime, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to consider <\/span><b>ratifying the UN Convention against Cybercrime<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">SC Judge noted that without worldwide coordination, India cannot effectively trace money trails in cyber frauds.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Solicitor General informed the Court that <\/span><b>India has not yet ratified the treaty<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Bench Passes Extraordinary Order in Digital Arrest Case<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In a rare move, the Court directed that the accused in a \u2018digital arrest\u2019 fraud\u2014where a 72-year-old lawyer lost \u20b93.29 crore\u2014must not be granted bail until the investigation is completed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The order came after concerns that the accused might be released as the 90-day chargesheet deadline nears.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Justice Kant remarked that the situation may require unusual orders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Court Takes Suo Motu Cognisance of Growing Digital Arrest Scams<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Acting on a complaint from an elderly couple in Ambala who were defrauded of \u20b91.05 crore, the SC had earlier sought responses from the MHA and CBI.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The scammers allegedly used forged orders of the SC, Bombay HC, and ED to intimidate victims.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Proposal to Transfer All Digital Arrest Cases to CBI<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Concerned by the <\/span><b>sharp rise in cyber fraud<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, the Supreme Court proposed moving all digital arrest cases nationwide to the <\/span><b>CBI<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, asking states to submit case details.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court Advocate-on-Record Association (SCAORA) has also sought to join proceedings to assist the court.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/legal-news\/digital-arrest-scams-supreme-court-un-cybercrime-treaty-10370651\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/in-rare-order-supreme-court-forbids-grant-of-bail-to-accused-in-digital-arrest-case\/article70291837.ece\/amp\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unodc.org\/unodc\/en\/cybercrime\/convention\/convention-against-cybercrime-chapters.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">UNODC<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>SC highlights rising digital arrest scams, seeks clarity on India\u2019s stance on the UN Cybercrime Convention, and issues strong orders to prevent accused from securing bail.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":73953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[3754,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-73941","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-digital-arrest-scam","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73941","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73941"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73941\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/73953"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73941"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73941"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73941"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}